Kiwi plant named ‘Red Queen’

Abstract

A new and distinct kiwi plant of the species Actinidia chinensis is described. The cultivar results from a controlled pollination using a female A. chinensis selection RS1 and a male selection (Tomuri and Chieftain). Named parents (RS1, Tomuri and Chieftain) are believed to be unpatented cultivars in the United States. The new cultivar is distinguished by its medium fruit size, ovoid fruit shape, general hairlessness, greenish-brown fruit coloring, and its harvest date in mid-October in Italy.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Genus and species of plant claimed: Actinidia chinensis Planch.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present application claims priority from Community Plant Variety Office (European Union) Application No. 20190516, filed Mar. 11, 2019, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Kiwi plants in cultivation are mainly varieties of A. deliciosa, although some A. chinensis and A. arguta varieties are grown. A. deliciosa and A. chinensis are closely related and varieties of both types have large fruit (about 100 g) with hair on the skin. Main varieties of Kiwi plants include ‘Hayward’ (A. deliciosa) and ‘Hort16A’ (A. chinensis). ‘Hayward’ is not patented, while ‘Hort16A’ is subject to U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,066. All Actinidia species are dioecious, so female varieties have to be interplanted with male pollinizers to ensure fruit production. Fruit are usually cut and eaten with a spoon. ‘Tomuri’ and ‘Chieftain’ are both esaploid males which are commonly used to pollinate esaploid varieties such as ‘Hayward’, and also ‘RS1’. As they are both not synchronized with Red varieties, which bloom much earlier than ‘Tomuri’ and ‘Chieftain’ so male pollen has to be collected from male vines one year in advance, and then distributed on females during blooming, either dry (mixed with lycopodium) or in a liquid solution.

‘RS1’ is a red kiwifruit variety which germinates in Northern Italy around 15 days before ‘Hayward’ (means around 3^rd week of March) and blooms 15 days before ‘Hayward’ (means around April 20^th). It is a medium vigorous plant with short interno-knots. It adapts to a wide range of climates, but barely stand temperatures below 0° C. cause of its high sensitiveness to Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (PSA), a bacteria that can result in the death of kiwifruit vines. It is harvested in Northern Italy about 35 days before ‘Hayward’ which means the last week of September.

Fruits can be stored for 2-3 months at 0° C.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a new and distinctive kiwifruit variety, designated ‘Red Queen’ Breeder's Reference: RK 2018. It was obtained during the course of a planned plant breeding program, which took place in the Emilia-Romagna region near Milan, Italy between 2008-2013. The ‘Red Queen’ variety was selected from a population of seedlings obtained from freely-pollinated ‘RS1’ fruits. About 450 seedlings of ‘RS1’ fruits were pollinated with various males, particularly ‘Tomuri’ and ‘Chieftain’ which both proved to be perfectly compatible with ‘RS1’. ‘Red Queen’ first flowered in April 2011 and fruits were assessed in October 2011. All referenced dates are northern hemisphere timings.

In 2012, ‘Red Queen’ variety was grafted on ‘Hayward’ and ‘Tomuri’ rootstock, and the asexually reproduced plants proved to be true to type. The location where the first act of asexual reproduction took place is Castel Bolognese (Emilia Romagna) Italy.

In 2014, the first trial plot of plants grafted on both ‘Hayward’ and ‘Tomuri’ were established in Latina, Italy. The resulting first fruits harvested in 2016 proved to maintain the unique features observed in the nursery.

Germination period is 10-12 days before ‘Hayward’, which means about one week after ‘RS1’. Flowering period is last week of April, means 10 days before ‘Hayward’ and one week after ‘RS1’. Ripening period is last week of October, about 25 days after ‘RS1’. Harvesting should be performed when the external pulp tends to lose its green color and starts to turn to yellow. The harvest date of the instant plant was Oct. 20, 2017 in Emilia Romagna (Northern Italy).

‘Red Queen’ is moderately vigorous and has close internodes. The germination percentage during spring is very high: 70-85%. The plant has a bushy growing habit and responds effectively to cuts of green pruning, generating a large number of offshoots. The ‘Red Queen’ variety presents panicles with a number of flowers ranging from 4 to a maximum of 7. The plant is malleable and responds very well to pruning. Production is uniform, with many single fruits, a few double fruits and a high share of USDA grade #1 fruits.

Fruits are oblong with a tendency to develop into a slightly pear shape, of variable length between 50-80 mm and width between 35-45 mm. The fruit's medial section is circular.

The peel has a green-brown 152D shade of color and is glabrous. The pulp is yellow 4B on the outside and red 44B in the center. The red 44B and yellow 4B color increases in uniformity after the 4th year of implantation and so does the overall ripening of fruits. The fruit's columella is cream-white 11D in color and of a medium-soft consistency, more consistent in proximity of the stalk.

The shelf life of ‘Red Queen’ is strongly dependent on the harvesting method, but is typically 4-5 months and, in ideal conditions, it can even reach 6 months.

Brix degrees at the time of consumption range from 19° to 21° with a medium level of acidity.

In the Table 1 and 2 descriptions, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Color Chart, 2001, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

Distinctive characteristics of the variety include the following shown in Table 1:

Number	Characteristics	State Expression
1	Plant: sex	Feminine
2	Plant: parthenocarpy	Absent
3	Plant: Vigour	Medium
4	Young shoot: hair density	Limited
5	Young shoot: anthocyanin	Limited
	coloration on the growth edge
6	Stalk: thickness	Medium
7	Stalk: offshoot color on the sun-	Brown 199A
	exposed side
8	Stalk: bark texture	Slightly coarse
9	Stalk: hair density	Light
10	Stalk: strength	Medium
11	Stalk: length	50/70 cm
12	Stalk: diameter	12/15 mm
13	Stalk: lenticels size	Small, 3-4 per
		square cm
14	Stalk: lenticels shape	Thin rectangular
15	Stalk: lenticels length	3-4 mm
16	Stalk: lenticels number	Medium
17	Stalk: surface of the bud’s base	Medium,
		almost smooth
18	Stalk: presence of pearls	Absent
19	Stalk: size of the pearl’s orifice	Absent
20	Leaf callus	Concave
21	Stalk: fibrous part	Fibrous, watery
22	Leaf blade: shape	Mostly heart-shaped in
		the young age. It becomes
		orbiculate in the adult
		plant with a slightly
		dentate margin. Margin
		shows 3-4 spikes per
		linear cm.
23	Leaf blade: length/width ratio	1:1. Average leaf width is
		18-20 cm. Average length
		is 13-15 cm.
24	Leaf blade: tip’s shape	Acuminate in adult age;
		shallow notch in a round
		apex in young age.
25	Leaf blade: basal lobes	Lightly overlapping
26	Leaf blade: number of ciliated	Medium
	indentations
27	Leaf blade: hair density in the	Absent
	upper part
28	Leaf blade: hair density in the	Very sparse - subtle
	lower part
29	Leaf blade: green intensity in the	Intense green 134A
	upper part
30	Leaf blade: color in the lower part	Light green 134C
31	Leaf blade: variegation	Absent
32	Leaf blade: variegation color	Absent
33	Leaf: stalk size and texture	Average length 12-15 cm,
		average diameter 3 mm,
		and smooth texture
34	Stalk: anthocyanin color in the	Absent
	upper part
35	Panicle: type	Raceme type with 4 to 7
		single flowers. Sometimes
		double/triple flowers
		can appear.
36	Panicle: number of flowers	4-7
37	Flower bud: first bud position	Basal
38	Flower bud: shape	Mostly round
39	Flower bud: length	3 mm
40	Flower bud: diameter	4-6 mm
41	Flower bud: color	Light brown 199B
42	Flower: number of sepals	6 or 7
43	Flower: sepal color	146D
44	Flower: sepal shape	Similar to an upside-
		down teaspoon. Apex
		is mostly round.
45	Flower: sepal consistency	Slightly fibrous
46	Flower: sepal texture	Margin is smooth. Smooth
		on the inner side and
		slightly hairy
		on the outer side.
47	Flower: density of sepal hairs	Medium
48	Flower: diameter and depth	Medium - 52 mm; 20
		mm depth.
49	Flower: petal placement	Overlapping
50	Flower: profile shape	Flat
51	Flower: number of stigma	Medium - 30/35.
52	Flower: placement of stigma	Irregular
53	Petal: main color of the adaxial side	White-yellowish 155B
54	Petal: main color shade	145B
55	Petal: secondary color on	Green 145B
	adaxial side
56	Petal: secondary color distribution	Almost absent
57	Petal: shape	Round. Apex
		mostly round, sometimes
		slightly acuminate. Margin
		irregular base:
		slightly acuminate.
58	Petal: texture	Velvety for both surfaces
59	Anther: color	Intense yellow 6A
60	Fruit: weight	Average weight: 85-90 gr
61	Fruit: length	50-80 mm
62	Fruit: width	35-45 mm
63	Fruit: length-width ratio	1:1.7
64	Fruit: shape	Oblong with a tendency
		to develop into a
		slightly pear shape
65	Fruit: shape in central section	Circular
	(approx. mid fruit)
66	Fruit: lower part	Lightly concave
67	Fruit: presence of sharp pro-	Absent
	tuberance
68	Fruit: presence of ring at the calyx	Absent
69	Fruit: edge shape at stem end	Lightly rounded
70	Fruit: stem length	Long - 4-5 cm
71	Fruit: stem diameter	2-3 mm
72	Fruit: stem length in relation to	Long
	fruit length
73	Fruit: presence of lenticels on skin	Limited - lenticel number
		is approximately 6/7
		per square centimetres
74	Fruit: lenticel diameter	2 mm
75	Fruit: lenticel height	1 mm
76	Fruit: Absence of hair on skin	Hairs sparsely present
77	Fruit: hair density	Very sparse
78	Fruit: hair color	Light brown, almost
		absent
79	Fruit: hair adherence to skin	Strong
80	Fruit: skin color	Green-brown 152D,
		depending on light
		exposure
81	Fruit: hair adherence to pulp	Strong
82	Fruit: color of external pericarp	Greenish yellow 4B
83	Fruit: color of loculi-alveoli	Red 44B
84	Fruit: diffusion of red color around	High
	the loculi-alveoli (if present)
85	Fruit: intensity of the red color	Strong
	in the loculus
86	Fruit: extent of the columella in	Medium
	relation to the fruit
87	Fruit: overall shape of the colum-	Circular
	ella in themid-section
88	Fruit: color of the columella	Cream white 11D
89	Fruit: sweetness	High
90	Faiit: acidity	Medium
91	Period of bud breakage	Medium-premature,
		approximately March 5.
92	Period of flowering	Averagely premature,
		approximately April 22.
93	Period of ripening for harvesting	Averagely tardive -
		approximately October
		20.

The typical and observed plan height at age 3 is about 4 meters, plant growth covers about 6-7 sqm., trunk texture is smooth, and trunk color is 177A.

The new variety can be asexually reproduced, both by promoting roots on cuts, using warm beds, or more conveniently through grafting on selected rootstocks. Plants grafted on male rootstocks proved to be more vigorous and more resistant than straight plants from cuts. Grafting can be operated within a wide window, from May into July. English single or double cut is the most common grafting technique. Trial plantings of grafted plants established in both Emilia Romagna (Castelbolognese) and Latina area in 2014 have shown that the unique combination of characteristics come true to form, are established, and transmitted through succeeding asexual propagations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Images show in the following identified pictures are from plants that are approximately four years from grafting.

The illustration on sheet 1 shows typical fruit of the new variety in the orchard.

The illustration on sheet 2 shows closeup of typical fruit of the new variety in the orchard.

The illustration on sheet 3 shows typical fruit of the new variety in the orchard in cross-section, 10 days before harvest.

The illustration on sheet 4 shows a typical fruit of the new variety in the studio and in cross-section.

The illustration on sheet 5 shows a typical fruit of the new variety in the studio and on a scale.

The illustration on sheet 6 shows typical fruit of the parent female ‘RS1’ species in the studio, including in cross-section.

The illustration on sheet 7 shows typical fruit of the new variety in the studio compared with the parent female ‘RS1’ species, including in cross-section.

COMPARISON TO CLOSEST VARIETY

‘Red Queen’ variety shows some distinctive features common to ‘RS1’ varieties, such as a navel at the bottom, oblong shape with a tendency to develop into a slightly pear shape, hairless fruits and very high fertility.

Comparison with the similar variety ‘RS1’ (protected by CPVO Europe under the title # EU46694) shows that ‘Red Queen’ may be distinguished as follows in Table 2:

Comparison With Similar Variety.
Observations made under Italy Growing Conditions 2016-2019
Characteristic	‘RS1’	‘Red Queen’
FRUIT:
Harvest date	Late September	Late October
Color of	Bright yellow (44A)/	Greenish yellow
ripe pericarp	Bright red (44B)	(4B)
Skin color	Greenish brown	Greenish brown (152D)
	(152D)
Mean fresh weight	70-80 grams	85-100 grams
Mean dry matter at	19-23%	19-22%
harvest
Average length	60 mm	50-80 mm
Average width	37 mm	35-45 mm
Core diameter	12 mm	13 mm
Width/length ratio	0.61	0.588
Sweetness (Brix at	20-22°	19-21°
maturity for
consumption)
General shape	Oblong	Oblong with a tendency to
		develop into a slightly
		pear shape
Cross-sectional shape	Circular	Circular
Shape of stylar end	Navel	Navel
Skin: Hairness	Absent	Almost absent
VINE:
Shoots:
Color	148A	148A
Texture	Smooth	Smooth
Length		30-40 cm
Diameter		8-10 mm
Stem:
Color (upper)	165A	166A
Color (lower)	199A	199A
Mean diameter	9 mm	9.5 mm
Texture	Smooth	Smooth
Lenticels (if present)	Present	Present
Length		40-50 mm
Lenticel number		6/7 per square centimetres
Diameter		2 mm
Height		1 mm
Leaf:
Color (upper)	134A	134A
Color (lower)	134B	134C
Venation color		11B
(upper) (mainly
central vein only)
Venation color		11A
(lower)
Shape	Orbiculate	Heart-shaped in young
		age; orbiculate in
		adult age
Length	120 mm	130 mm
Width	115 mm	120 mm
Apex	Acuminate	Acuminate in adult age;
		shallow notch in round
		apex in young age
Base	Cordate	Cordate
Margin	Ciliate	Ciliate
Texture	Smooth	Smooth
Venation Pattern		Reticulate
FLOWER:
Inflorescence:
Predominant number	5-6	4-7
of flowers
Petiole:
Length	100-105 mm	105-115 mm
Color	162A	162B
Length	35 mm	37 mm
Color	135C	135C
Hairs	Smooth	Smooth
Length of hairs		12-15 cm
Diameter		3 mm
Texture		Smooth
Flower:
Coloration of petals	Bi-colored	Bi-colored
Primary color	155A	155B
Secondary color	145A	145B
Petal shape		Round
Petal apex		Mostly round, sometimes
		slightly acuminate
Petal margin		Irregular
Petal base		Slightly acuminate
Petal texture		Velvety for both surfaces
Base of petals	48 mm	50 mm
diameter
Arrangement of	Overlapping	Overlapping
petals
Mean number of	5-6	6
petals/flowers
Mean length of petals	24 mm	26 mm
Mean width of petals	21 mm	22 mm
Petal ratio of	1.15	1.17
length/width
Petal shoulder	Present	Very pronounced
Filament color	157A	157A
Anther color	6A	6A
Attitude of styles	Erect	Erect
Curvature of styles	Absent	Absent
Color of styles	157A	157C
Amount of hair on	Dense	Dense
ovary
Color of ovary	157A	157A
Shape of ovary		Roundish
Diameter of ovary		Appx 6 mm
Sepals:
Number of sepals	6-7	6-7
Color of sepals	146C	146D
Length	8.5-11.0 mm	9.3-11.5 mm
Mean length	10.0 mm	10.3 mm
Sepals diameter	6.7 mm	7.0 mm
Flower opening	Mid-April	Late April
Vegetative bud break	Mid-March	Early March
Plant/fruit disease	None	None
and pest resistance
Plant hardiness zone	Unknown	Unknown
or heat/cold
resistance

The most striking differences between ‘RS1’ and ‘Red Queen’ are the fruit shape (‘RS1’ is more pear-shaped, while ‘Red Queen’ is more oblong with a tendency to develop into a slightly pear shape) and size, flowering and harvest times, and storability. The fruit size is significantly bigger than ‘RS1’, and the biggest fruits on ‘Red Queen’ are obtained on medium wood, while the ‘RS1’ needs larger, strong wood to reach decent size. The bud break and blooming of ‘Red Queen’ are both delayed by about 1 week beyond that of ‘RS1’. Also, fruit storability or ‘Red Queen’ is much longer than that of ‘RS1’, typically 4-5 months for ‘Red Queen’ versus two months for ‘RS1’.

Claims

1. A new and distinct kiwi plant of the species A. chinensis Planch substantially as herein described and illustrated.